‘Kohli Was Not Able To Withdraw His Bat At The Last Moment’- Sunil Gavaskar Gives Verdict On Virat’s Dismissal

London: Sunil Gavaskar opened up on Virat Kohli’s dismissal in the ongoing World Test Championship Final 2023 against Australia at The Oval. Gavaskar reckoned that  Kohli would have been able to handle the surprise bouncer from Mitchell Starc better if he had been willing to play on the back foot.

Many cricket experts called that Starc’s ball to Kohli was unplayable. India is in a spot of bother as the Indian batting star fell for 14 on Day 2 of the summit clash.

The potent Aussie bowling unit used fuller deliveries and bounce in the pitch to good effect to leave India on 151/5 in 38 overs at stumps, with Australia still leading by 318 runs. All of Australia’s five bowlers took a wicket each as India’s top four batters failed to pass the 15 run mark in front of accurate and relentless lines and lengths.

While bowling to Kohli, Starc came around the wicket and bowled an off-cutter that pitched on a shorter length. Kohli was caught by surprise by the sharp bounce as the ball hit his gloves before Smith took a fine catch at second slip.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar opened up on Kohli’s dismissal saying that he did not have enough time to drop his wrists and leave the delivery from Starc.

“Off the backfoot,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports when he was asked how could a batter deal with that delivery from Starc.

“You could have look again, today because of the fact that there are only two bouncers per over, most batters are onto the front foot. This means they are not able to get onto the backfoot and give themselves the extra yard where you could have probably let the ball go by dropping your wrists.

“Yes, it was a tough delivery because he was so committed to the front foot that he was not able to withdraw his bat at the last moment. If he had been on the backfoot.

“It looked like an unplayable ball, but if he had been on the backfoot, he would have been able to drop his wrists,” Gavaskar added.

At draw of stumps on Day 2, India were 151/5, with Rahane (29*) and Bharat (3*) holding fort, still trailing by 318 runs.

 

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